It Takes a Mother's Love
by Taint of Taia
Summary: The second war left its mark and Hogwarts mourned. But it ain't over until the huge magical castle roars. Hogwarts chooses her champion that will save her children: Molly Weasley. Molly is sent back in time to save Hogwarts' children, by any means necessary.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: This story is for amusement factor only and makes no profit, at all. I do not own the Harry Potter series, the characters, or the world.

**Summary**: The second war left its mark and Hogwarts mourned. But it ain't over until the huge magical castle roars. Hogwarts chooses her champion that will save her children: Molly Weasley. Molly is sent back in time to save Hogwarts' children, by any means necessary.

**Author's Note**: I need a beta. I don't know how to find one. I am looking for someone who is willing to put in the time to help me iron out any plot holes I may have missed or identify areas that need to be flushed out, not to mention spelling/grammar. Am I asking too much? I don't know, but if someone out there thinks they can help me I would be thankful. Please?

Also, I promised myself I wouldn't post another story on this site until it was at least more than half way finished. I'm breaking my rule because I think I have a good grasp on what each chapter is going to contain and I already know the ending. And for some reason, I just want to post it, so there.

* * *

**_Chapter 1_**

Molly Weasley focused her efforts on tidying the classroom she was currently in on the north side of Hogwarts Castle. Two weeks passed since the Battle of Hogwarts. Two weeks passed since her boy Fred died.

"Scourgify," she cast angrily at the blackboard.

The war took so many from them and now it was time to rebuild. There were many busy rebuilding the Ministry. There were a good number of people, mostly students or former students of the past couple years, also tending to Hogwarts.

Molly found the most abandoned corridor of classrooms to work.

She did her wailing. She did her crying. She held all her remaining babies to her and wouldn't let them out of her sight. Now she was angry. And when she was angry she cleaned.

But she couldn't look at anyone right now. She had to let out her anger somehow. And the damn _bitch_ Bellatrix wasn't around for her to kill again.

She straightened desks and banished dust. She opened windows to let in the light.

She moved to another room and did the same. And then another room. In some cases, there wasn't much to do, not like at Grimmauld Place where it remained untended for so many years. Hogwarts was well cared for so not many pests were about the place.

But in other areas…she closed the door to that classroom. The damage was too great. Someone who could repair the stone foundations would be needed. She marked the door with red spellotape so the experts in that area could repair it.

She was moving more and more to where the damaged areas were and before she knew it, she was in an unfamiliar area of the castle. It had been years since she walked these halls, but she didn't recall ever going this way. She never had been one interested in exploring Hogwarts. When she had been eleven, it was a place of wonder and magic to be sure, but it was a school first and foremost.

So when she came across a stairwell she wasn't familiar with, it really wasn't a surprise. It was dustier than the rest of Hogwarts. It wasn't the dust of debris and rubble but the dust gained from the passing of time. A few spells took care of that, however. A _lumos_ took care of the lack of light.

Had it been any of her children going down these steps, their minds would have immediately jumped to wondering what they'd find. Was it a secret room, a buried treasure, or an undiscovered passageway? Not Molly Weasley. She wondered what sort of mess she was about to encounter.

And yes, a little piece of her mind wondered if her Fred would have thought those fantastical things. But she wouldn't ever know, would she.

The stairwell that went down somehow strangely led her into a circular room surrounded by windows. She walked to one of the windows and looked out. _Oh_. She was in one of the towers. She knew Hogwarts was funny like that but a part of her had forgotten.

There was only one item in the room and it was a podium with the largest book she had ever seen resting on it.

"It's the Hogwarts registry."

Molly spun around to see that it was the Grey Lady.

"My mother made it." The ghost's fingers ran over the open pages, as if remembering.

"Your mother, dear?"

"Rowena Ravenclaw. This book records everyone in the area who is eligible to attend Hogwarts. Take a look. Its page is open to those who would be first years this coming September."

Molly walked over and had to admit she was curious. Very few were ever privileged to see the book. "Why are there lines through the names?" There were lines through over half of the children's names.

"If a child dies, their name is crossed off, but never removed. It is a tribute to them, that they would have had a place here had they survived."

Just under a hundred names were crossed off between the two pages. The wizarding world's population had swelled greatly since the last war with You-Know-Who. And to see that one class had over half gone…

She flipped the page to those who would attend in the following year, and again. And again. She shook when she got to the page of children who were only a year old now. At least a thousand children, culled by the Death Eaters.

"Those who invaded these halls made it their mission to rid the next generation of all muggleborn and half-blood children. They hadn't finished the job, of course, but the damage is done."

Molly flipped the pages backwards. First to Ginny's class, then Ron and Harry's. Finally she flipped to Fred and George's. Many of their class's names were now in gold, but not theirs. And Fred's name, poor Fred, his name was crossed off.

"The gold writing mean's they've graduated. Once they've graduated, the book stops tracking them."

Molly barely heard her. She was busy running a finger over her boy's name.

"Hogwarts wants you to change this."

"Excuse me?"

"Hogwarts. She wants you to save her children. All those that died, she wants you to save them."

"That's impossible. They're dead. You can't bring back the dead."

"No, but you can go back in time. There is much magic buried within these walls. She's become sentient over the past thousand years and the magic only grows, even with the battle's damage. She could send you back. She could send you to a time when you could fix it. You could destroy the one who would have this done to her children."

"Okay," she replied with a breath.

And later—much, much later—someone would someday ask what made her say okay. How long did it take her to say yes? The answer would be 'Fred' and 'no time at all' but that moment wasn't now. Right now, she didn't quite know what she just agreed to and yet she knew that Hogwarts' children included Fred and if all the children were saved, Fred would be saved too.

The ground rumbled and tore. People screamed as the castle started to crumble and rip. People ran out the doors and when Hogwarts was certain that everyone was out, everyone except the woman who would save her children, she exploded in gold and silver, bronze and grey light. Everyone who looked on to Hogwarts, had they been given a chance, would have never forgotten the awe inspiring sight of the dome of colors. But time was changing and so they would forget.

Molly stood in the middle of it all, blinded by the light coming in through the windows surrounding her. And she blacked out.

()()()()

"Molly. Mollywobbles! Time to wake up." Arthur's quiet voice whispered in her ear and she could hear the gentle smile on his lips even before she opened her eyes. His arm was draped over her side and he was behind her.

"Hmm," she replied. She always loved quiet mornings, just before the day began and she and her husband had a spare few minutes alone. She shifted to turn and face him and was faced with a perplexing stumbling block.

She immediately looked down to her expanded, pregnant, belly. "Oh, shit!"

"Mommy said _shit_!"

She turned to face a little boy in the doorway. It was Percy, at five year old, and his eyes were wide as if his mother just committed a cardinal sin.

"Molly, are you alright? It's not the baby, is it?" Arthur asked worriedly, putting a hand on his wife's shoulder.

"No, no. T-the baby's fine. Come here, Percy darling." She motioned for her middle son to come over and they boy complied. "Mummy just made a mistake saying that horrible word. You shouldn't repeat it."

Percy nodded solemnly. She knew he wouldn't. Now, if she said such a thing to the twins, well, that would just be asking for them to say it constantly for three days straight. She cuddled her responsible little boy and vowed to make sure he lightened up a little, made him see that the ministry wasn't the end all be all. That family was more important than anything.

When he first separated from them, after she got past her frustrations and anger, she wondered if he just felt a little too lost in their big family. She'd make sure this time that that wouldn't happen.

Ooh. She rubbed her belly. She forgot what a kicker Ginny was. Percy giggled. He felt the little kick too from where he was nestled next to her.

"She's strong, isn't she?" she asked her little boy.

"Silly mommy. Weasley's don't have girls!"

She dropped a kiss on her boy's head. "We'll see." They hadn't bothered finding out the sex of any of their children. She remembered resigning herself last time to the inevitability of having a seventh son. But seventh sons were lucky and she supposed it was the universe's way of not granting the possibility of the seventh of a seventh son in the Weasley clan.

She counted herself lucky. She got the girl she always wanted.

"Fred!" She hopped out of bed as quickly as her very pregnant belly allowed and scrambled to the twins' room. She sat between the two beds and stroked George's whole ear and turned to Fred. The little boy was all turned about in his covers, limbs each and every way, and she watched his chest rise and fall.

"Molly? Are you alright?" Arthur asked from the door, concerned with his wife's reactions this morning.

She nodded. "It was just a bad dream I had. A horrible, bad dream."

Arthur nodded, understanding. One couldn't help but have bad dreams in this time of war. You-Know-Who grew stronger every day.

"What's today's date?" Molly asked, looking up at him.

"July thirty-first."

It was Harry's birthday. Harry's first birthday, she mentally giggled. Oh, and he'd be with his parents right now. Maybe, just maybe, she could help keep them alive, too?

"Mommy!" Fred jumped out of bed and threw his arms around her. He never needed to wake slowly, always having energy from the second he woke up to when he crashed and went to bed.

And George joined in on her other side "Mommy!"

She grinned down at both of them, apparently her presence woke them. She looked up at Arthur and grinned at him. Percy was hugging his father's side.

"Well, the two of you can't just stand there!"

Arthur picked up his son and lifted him up like the boy was flying and crashed into the happy little circle, all of them hugging her.

Her boys, she smiled.

"What's going on?" Bill, all of eleven years old and with no scars from a werewolf or wedding ring on his finger, stood in the doorway. He was holding Ron who was seventeen months old and clutching his teddy.

"Family hug!" Arthur replied.

"Oye, Charlie!" Bill hollered. "Get up here!" And then he joined in the frivolity.

"Why are we doing this?" as he tickled George.

"Because you are my boys, all of you," Molly replied and reached a hand to pull her eldest's head over and placed a kiss on it. "I don't need any other reason than that."

"But then how are we going to have breakfast?" Charlie asked, rubbing a fist in his eye before bowling into his mum's legs.

()()()()

Molly relished that morning, not caring one whit the reason she came back. She knew that Arthur was worried as she fussed over her boys a little extra today, especially Fred, but he wasn't so worried that he called her on it.

Soon enough, he was off to work and she was left surrounded by six little boys who all wanted her attention, especially Ron who was clingy at this age.

She was reminded how much Bill had stepped up this summer the first time. There weren't terrible age gaps between any of her children, but the shorter age gaps were between Percy to Ginny, the shortest being between Ron and Ginny. Four children, soon to be five, were ages five and under. And so Bill, without too much pushing, took on the additional responsibility of watching out for his younger siblings, especially as Molly couldn't chase after the twins as things were.

And by the afternoon, with some well-rehearsed practice, she found herself with half an hour to herself. The twins and Ron were napping and Bill and Charlie were looking out for Percy. She sipped a cup of tea as she sat on the couch in the living room, pillows behind her back to relieve some pressure. It gave her a moment to think of what happened.

She time traveled.

She, Molly Weasley, time traveled.

Goodness.

She looked to the ceiling where she knew her children's rooms were and thought about the thousand or more lives that had been crossed off in the Hogwarts registry. Hogwarts' children. Fred was one of them. Having dropped out and never graduated, his name never turned gold. So his name was able to be crossed out.

Her hands shook and she had to put her cup of tea down before she spilled it. She took in a deep breath. Lord knows she'd do anything for her children. Anything. But how was she supposed to do this? How was she supposed to do this? The only thing that crossed her mind was to defeat You-Know-Who. But she couldn't possibly do that, could she?

Harry could. Harry did.

She thought of the boy she considered a seventh son. _How appropriate_, her mind whispered. He was one years old, today. Merlin, only one. How could she dare to think of putting that back on his shoulders? She couldn't. But how did he defeat him anyway?

_Horcruxes_, her mind whispered.

She shivered at the remembrance of the foul things. She heard the story of them during the two weeks after the battle. What were they, again?

"_Accio_, quill. _Accio_, ink. _Accio_, parchment." The three things zoomed from the desk and into her hands. She rested the parchment on her belly and carefully inked the quill.

_Riddle's Diary._

The most despicable of the lot, she remembered. It possessed her daughter and Harry killed it with a basilisk fang. Where was it? Oh, yes. Under the drawing room in the Malfoy's home. She wrote that down.

_Slytherin's Locket._

She remembered that one because it was the one that Harry, Ron, and Hermione carried around without knowing how to destroy it. She remembered how her son had come home, distraught after having been influenced by it so much that he left the camp and couldn't find his friends again. That one, she recalled from their tale was with Kreacher, something about Sirius's brother. Her own son destroyed it, she was proud to learn.

_Hufflepuff's Cup._

How could she forget how they hesitantly told them how they broke into Gringotts for that one? And survived! Bellatrix Lestrange's vault. She sneered while remembering the woman she killed, alive again. Well, who's to say she won't get the chance to do so again?

_Slytherin's Ring_.

The piece that would have killed Dumbledore had Snape not done the job. Where was it? The _Gaunts'._ Wherever that was. She'd have to look into it.

_Ravenclaw's Diadem_.

It was in that strange room that would give you whatever you wanted, in Hogwarts. It was the easiest one that anyone could get to.

_Snake._

That snake that You-Know-Who loved and took everywhere with him.

_Harry._

Not yet he wasn't. She remembered how he confessed to finding out he carried a piece of You-Know-Who's soul with him since that Halloween night. How horrible. But she could stop it. She could!

Three months stood between today and that night. She knew where the items were. All she had to do was get to them. Simple.

People always underestimated her anyway. But they should look at the children she raised: a curse breaker, a dragon tamer, a politician in the making, two entrepreneurs, a defeater of one You-Know-Who's horcruxes who bravely went into battle, and a young girl who wasn't quite finished with school but stood her ground in a school run by Death Eaters.

Who was she? She was their mother. They inherited it all from her. Stand down or die bitches.

Ooh, that kick hurt. She leaned back. She might have to wait until Ginny was born.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note**: Two things:

I need a beta. Please?

This story is for fun and amusement and not meant to be serious.

* * *

**_Chapter 2_**

The next day was August 1st, a Saturday. Apparently, this was very important, because Bill was promised a trip to Diagon Alley by his father, who had Saturday's off. But Arthur couldn't just take Bill, because Charlie begged to go as well. It was a day that promised Bill a _wand_.

"Go!" Molly ushered. "I can handle the little ones."

"Are you sure," Arthur murmured as he placed a kiss on her lips.

She pecked them quickly. "I'm pregnant, not an invalid. I take care of them every day you're at work."

He gave her a look that meant _but you have Bill and Charlie to corral the twins or occupy Percy_.

She pecked his lips again. "If I have any problems, I'll call the Lovegoods."

"Or your brothers. I'm sure they'd be willing to watch their nephews for a few hours. You know how they love them."

"Yes, my brothers," she said faintly. She'd forgotten they'd still be alive. They died barely a month after Ginny was born. "Yes, I could call them." She plastered a grin on her face. "Go, before Bill decides to go on his own."

She watched as her husband and two eldest children went off to Diagon Alley and only then let her grin drop and she eased herself into a chair. In the background, she could already hear Fred and George create havoc and Percy doing his best to emulate a big brother and keep them from destroying anything, without success. She heard something smash. Ron was in a playpen in the kitchen with her and was already demanding attention.

She put her head in her hands.

"Moommmy!" Percy came running into the kitchen. "Fred smashed one of the vases!"

She smiled weakly at him. "Thank you for telling me." She pushed herself up and waited a moment to get her equilibrium. "Keep an eye on Ron for a moment." Then she went to deal with her mischievous twins and broken vase.

()()()()

An hour later, she couldn't quite take it anymore. She hadn't taken care of so many little ones at once since Percy first went off to Hogwarts. And really, she was reconciling that Fred was alive! But the memory of his dead body haunted her mind's eye every time she saw her little boy, and even when she didn't. And her brothers! They were alive! Really, she just needed more than the few minutes to herself that she got yesterday.

She wasn't thirty-two anymore. Okay, so she was in her thirty-two year old body, and how delicious was that that Arthur looked thirty-one again. But her mind didn't age backward. To her, she was still almost fifty. She was the woman ready to be a grandmother and spoil grandchildren. And here she was, mother to seven small young ones again.

Her mind needed to adjust, and so she made up her mind, threw floo powder into the fireplace, and called her brothers.

"Fabian," she breathed, and nearly burst into tears as his head came through the fire.

"Hey, little sister. How are you and the little ones?"

"Fine, fine." She wiped away her tears. "Arthur's taken Bill and Charlie to Diagon Alley for Bill's school supplies. I was hoping you might have a chance to come over? I, um, I overestimated how much I relied on Bill to help me while pregnant."

"Absolutely. Would love to see the little ankle biters. Give me a few minutes and I'll be right over."

Molly nodded her head. "See you in a few."

In no more than five minutes, he popped over like promised and Molly all but threw herself into her older brother's arms. "Sorry. It's the pregnancy," she lied and then let go.

"Uncle Fabian! Uncle Fabian! Uncle Fabian!" Twin voices rang through the kitchen as Fred and George threw themselves at their uncle. He caught one in each arm and spun them around.

"How are my favorite twins!"

Percy was quick to join in the tangle and they were soon all laughing. Even Ron, from his playpen was laughing and clapping, picking up on the joyful mood.

"What do you say, my dear nephews, to going outside on a _treasure hunt_?" He looked positively mischievous, looking between the three boys. He looked up at Molly and winked, knowing she needed some time. "Do you want Ron to come with us?"

"Nooo!" George cried. "He's a baby!"

"I was asking your mum, Georgie."

"I can watch Ron. Thank you, Fabian."

Molly did follow them outside, with Ron holding onto her fingers as he walked. It would be good to watch her boys play without her having to be the one to chase after them.

She watched as they went on an imaginary treasure hunt and interspersed it with a little game of tag and hide and seek. She drank in the happy scene. Ron was happy crawling around and taking in the outside world. Molly made sure he didn't get too far.

Her mind drifted to the additional seventeen years she knew. In three months, if she did nothing, the Boy-Who-Lived would be heralded a hero and shuffled off to muggles who wouldn't treat him well. And then You-Know-Who would come back and kill all the children.

She pulled out the list she made of the horcruxes and looked at the first one: Riddle's Diary. She already thought some about it last night and she knew a way to get to it—her husband. Back in 1992, they conducted raids on some houses looking for dark objects, but they also did it in the first war as well. If she could convince her husband to put it in the right ear to search Malfoy's home and that they should look for a secret room below the drawing room.

She bit her lip. She hadn't told Arthur yet about how she time travelled, but she knew she had to. He was her husband and her confidant. He already knew something was amiss. She'd tell him, she determined. But not yet.

The second item was the locket. She knew Sirius's brother died during the war, but she didn't know when. Had he gotten the locket yet? Could she even get to the thing? She had a feeling she'd need to speak with Sirius Black about it, but she never met him until she had joined the Order, and that didn't happen until You-Know-Who's second rise. Another item she had to put off until she figured it out better.

The third item. The cup. Bellatrix Lestrange's vault. That was certainly a problem. It was a miracle that Ron and his friends managed it, but she couldn't. She knew that already. But perhaps there was a way. She looked to the house as if she could see through its walls, and straight to her clock. That clock had been part of her dowry, but only part. There had been money, of course, not much but some. There was one last item that came with her dowry, however.

She bit her lip. That last item she bargained with the goblins with and got four of her children's Hogwarts tuition paid for, for all seven years. The items in question were goblin-made. Four goblets, to be precise, and each goblet paid for one child's tuition for seven years. They were that valuable because they were not only made by Ragnuk the First, but the craftsmanship included a number of valuable stones.

She always considered her children's education more important than any such item and was willing to bargain the steep price for their return to the goblins. But was this worth it? Would they, could they bargain her way into another person's vault? Dare she even try?

She and Arthur could find a way to pay for her children's education. There were other ways. She could take on a couple children to tutor as she taught her own, possibly. She could take on a job herself once Ginny went off to school. There were scholarships to Hogwarts they could apply for. It was doubtful they could get more than one of their children in on a scholarship, as coveted as they were, but she and Arthur could find a way.

Her mind drifted to the Hogwarts Registry once again, remembering all those names of children crossed off, her own son's included. A thousand lives were worth more than her children going to Hogwarts, if it came down to that. She'd fight to get them in.

She swallowed the lump in her throat that she might possibly be sacrificing four of her children's education, because she knew, deep down, that if it were to have any opportunity to work, all four of those cups would have to be sacrificed.

Laughter from her boys, from her brother, brought her out of her thoughts and she smiled at them.

She had a plan and she would save all the children she could.

()()()()

The next day she told Arthur she had a couple of errands to run and begged him off, saying that it would be better for her to get them done without the boys hanging off her. She understood his concern, of course. She was eight and a half months pregnant, but she needed to do this alone.

She flooed to Diagon Alley and clutched her bag to her and her hand didn't stray far from her wand.

She walked to Gringotts and, with the determination that she had the first time she made a bargain with goblins, walked straight to the head goblin.

"Yes?" the goblin drawled. "What do you want?"

"I would like to strike a bargain," she said sturdily.

"And what do you have to bargain with?"

She wasn't so foolish as to bring the cups with her. Instead, she brought out an old family photograph that had her and her brothers toasting a new year. In each of their hands was one of the cups. But she had made a copy and cropped the photo so it only showed her and a singular cup. She put the photograph in front of the goblin.

"This cup is goblin made. I wish to strike a bargain that will put it into your hands." Bargaining room was good. Start with one. Make them work for it.

She watched as the goblin went from being interested to downright greedy.

Within moments, she was swept into the back where a conference room was and the inheriting line of Ragnuk the First was brought into the room. It was as it happened before and she remembered a couple of their peculiarities from the first time.

She watched as Ragnok, Urcha, and Folong (father, daughter, and grandson respectfully) each opened their eyes wide at the treasure that their ancestor made over a thousand years ago. The head goblin stood to the side, eager to gain a finder's fee from the family.

She rubbed her belly to calm Ginny as they each greedily took in what they saw in the picture. There was no mistaking the craftsmanship as being anything other than goblin-made.

Ragnok looked up after a few moments, elbows on the table and tapping his fingertips together in a rhythm.

"Just one item, not goblin-made. It's another cup, Hufflepuff's cup, actually."

"We don't have such a thing in our possession."

"Gringotts does, in one of the vaults."

The head goblin narrowed his eyes at her. "Theft," he spat.

"A cup for a cup."

Ragnok threw the picture at her. "Our ancestor's item is not worth it."

"The cup I am seeking was stolen by You-Know-Who and then trusted to Bellatrix Lestrange," she pushed on. "They committed the theft first. And there is more than one of Ragnuk's cups in my possession."

The grandson, Folong, seemed to hiss when she mentioned You-Know-Who. The goblins typically stayed out of the war, not caring where gold came from, but there was no love for the Dark Lord. They also hated thieves and loved the return of what they viewed as their own goods.

So they began bargaining. The goblins weren't stupid. They could tell that 'more than one' also meant there were more than two as well. Molly wasn't stupid, either, and spoke to them as if there were only two. They bargained for an hour when the goblins said it wasn't worth it, to coax out another cup. She agreed. She had three in her possession. She pulled out the unaltered photograph that showed three of them drinking from the cups. The fourth did not appear in the photograph. Perhaps if they would craft a cup that resembled Hufflepuff's cup that could go in place of the other, she could see parting with it. After all, it would prevent the Lestranges from finding out that something from the vault went missing. After all, a cup was a cup, right? Fewer headaches all around for wizards and goblins alike.

Very well, they would think on it. They would contact her in three days with their decision. It was a heavy decision to make after all, agreed theft.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note**: Two things:

1) Beta? Is a beta out there? Please?

2) This story is for fun and amusement and not serious. I started it meaning to be more humorous than it's ending up. There will be humor. I hope.

* * *

**_Chapter 3_**

Monday passed. Then Tuesday. Arthur was getting more suspicious that something was going on. Molly kissed him goodbye as he went off to work on Wednesday with the promise that they would sit down this weekend and she would explain.

The house was filled with giggles and laughter and little boys' feet tromping about the house. Molly fretted about what the response would be from the goblins and busied herself with one of the few activities she seemed to be able to accomplish at the moment, knitting. Ron was in his playpen within her sight.

"Mum! Mum!" Bill barreled into the living room, eyes wide. "There's a goblin here to see you!" He had been outdoors playing when the goblin approached.

"Watch your brother," she murmured, meaning Ron.

But Bill didn't listen and instead followed her into the kitchen, where Ragnok was now standing. "Is it true you have curse breakers that break mummies' curses?" Bill asked. "Do mummies really come to life?"

"My son wants to be a curse breaker when he gets older," she told Ragnok, then faced her son. "Go watch Ron, now." And ushered him into the living room despite the petulant look he gave.

She then turned to face Ragnok.

"We have discussed your terms amongst our family and have come to an agreement. We will accept your terms. The cup has been replaced with one of the same appearance and monetary value." He then reached into a satchel he had at his side, and Hufflepuff's cup was placed on the table. "Do you have your side of the bargain?"

She nodded and went over to her family clock, opening it. She reached further in and opened a secret compartment where the four cups resided and pulled out three.

"Was that a fourth cup I just saw?" His eyes looked greedy.

"It was," she replied. "And someday you and I will strike a much more affordable bargain and it will be in your family's possession."

"When?" he snapped.

"Within the next decade, very likely sooner." She had needed to bargain with them to get four of her children into Hogwarts, starting with Percy the first time around. By the time Ginny's turn came, they were able to send her to school with their own funds. "Think on it, twelve years of Hogwarts tuition paid in full." _Bargain room_, her mind whispered. They'd likely settle at seven years paid for one cup, as they had the first time around.

He nodded slowly, understanding the bargain. In truth, they were much more invaluable to his family than that as so many wizards hoarded pieces from Ragnuk the First. She didn't need to know that, however. He would gain the last cup from her for much less than twelve years of Hogwarts tuition.

She had no idea how fortunate she was in dealing with his family. Had they been any other family, she would not gain Hufflepuff's cup. It was only because his wife was a daughter of Gringotts' main line that afforded them the luxury of access to an active vault. Any other family…well, goblins were goblins.

Before they finished the trade, they signed a very simple, but explicit contract. No refunds. Neither could try and reclaim the cup they desired. She could tell she wouldn't need a refund. She could feel the dark magic of _his_ soul residing in the cup from half way across the room.

()()()()

In the chaos that was a Weasley dinner, between Fred throwing his rolls at his twin, George retaliating with green beans, Charlie talking to anyone who would listen, Percy snapping at his little brothers to quit it, and Ron making a mess of himself and his meal, Bill told his father of the goblin that paid a visit to their kitchen. With practiced looks between the married couple, they promised to speak about it later that night, when the children were in bed.

Arthur worried when his wife led him out of the house to sit in the dark in their modest garden.

The ground was already beginning to dampen and it chilled Arthur even in the summer heat as he sat down with his wife on the ground. He had given her a steadying arm as she sat.

"Why are we out here, Molly?"

"So we don't wake our boys. And before you say silencing charms, I think this is better." She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. The summer air filled her lungs, giving her strength. "Goodness, I don't know how to begin," her voice cracked. She wiped away a tear. _Damn hormones_.

He positioned himself behind her and rubbed his arms along hers before wrapping them around her. "Take your time," he said. But dread filled his stomach because there were very few things that you would need a goblin's assistance on beyond gold. There were even fewer things that led to a goblin personally going to your own home. To his recollection, none of the reasons were ever pleasant reasons.

"I've time traveled." There. She said it. That was easy. Not really.

"Molly?" There was a look that she didn't often see directed at her. It was the one that said _I'm confused. Worried. And a little bit scared. What the hell?_ And all at once, too.

"Last week I was repairing Hogwarts after the war was finished. We just finished defeating You-Know-Who. Oh, you would have been so proud of all your children. Especially Ron." She gripped the hands that were around her. "It was 1998."

"Molly-"

"Let me finish." She didn't like how he said her name, but his arms were still around her. "Fred died. He died and there wasn't anything I could do to make it better. And then Hogwarts…somehow Hogwarts is alive and she didn't like that so many of her children died. There were a thousand children that died. At least. A thousand children that never even got to go to Hogwarts. More than that died in the war: children already going to Hogwarts, adults. I know a thousand children isn't much, not in the grand scheme of things. But I'm glad Hogwarts couldn't see past her own corner of the world. Because Fred was one of those children. She sent me back to save them. So I'm going to. And that's why the goblin was here today, because he helped me get a piece that will help with stopping the war."

She waited. She squeezed his hands in hers.

"So we're really having a girl, then." He laughed. The laugh sounded off as one would expect with this sort of thing, she supposed.

"Arthur?"

"I can't—I don't know what to say. How does someone…" His voice drifted off and his hands withdrew from around her. He got up and started to pace. He ran a hand through his hair. "So, it's a girl."

"Ginny." She could tell he was scrambling to grasp something he could grasp something of what she was talking about, so focused on one of the most immediate things—her certainty over the past week that they were having a girl.

"Ginny," he whispered, reverentially. "There hasn't been a girl born to a Weasley in generations."

"Well now there is. Ginevra Molly Weasley. And she's a spitfire! Forget about putting her in a skirt. She'll rather sneak off on one of her brothers brooms." She was both proud and exasperated with her little girl.

"She'll have to be, I imagine, to stand up to her brothers."

He walked back up to her and held out his hands to help her up. She grasped them, got her feet under her, and had the tedious task of then getting up, even with help.

"There's more, isn't there?" There was a bit of doubt in his voice, that he believed her, but didn't.

She nodded. She told bits and pieces of their boys' lives and then how You-Know-Who was destroyed and then came back. Harry was mentioned as the Boy-Who-Lived, but not by name. Not yet. And yes, they won the war, but their Fred didn't make it. And the Hogwarts Registry? Over a thousand lives lost that hadn't yet made it to their first year of Hogwarts. Some of them were still babes in their mother's arms.

The wizarding world was small. A thousand or more lives of children eleven and under, Arthur understood. It was devastating.

"So how are you supposed to save Hogwarts' children? What did it have to do with why the goblin was in our kitchen this morning?"

She gave a sad sort of smile and placed her hand on his cheek. "The goblins had something that could help destroy You-Know-Who. I offered payment for it and they agreed."

Arthur got a wary feeling in the pit of his stomach. "What sort of payment?"

"The goblin-made cups. Three of them."

"And the fourth cup?" he whispered. He and Molly, when they realized they'd have a big family, decided years ago to use them to pay for their children's education.

"We still have it. I've already mentioned it to the goblin that we would seek years' worth of Hogwarts tuition for it."

"And what is it that could help destroy You-Know-Who?"

"A piece of his soul."

Arthur stilled. Dark magic was practiced by his mother's family, the Blacks, for centuries. He knew magic was capable of many things, including tearing out a piece of your soul, but there were some lines even the Blacks didn't cross. That was one of them.

"And where is this piece of his soul now?"

"In the back corner of the attic." She placed it there after the goblin visited. "I don't yet know how to destroy it, but I couldn't leave it there, protected in a vault. It needs to be destroyed."

"Yes. Yes, it absolutely does," he agreed. And he knew the financial sacrifice his family now made for it, and had he been the one to have to make the decision, he would have made the same one Molly did. He and Molly could teach their children what they needed to know. Molly already homeschooled them. They could homeschool them in magic, too.

"He made more than one horcrux," Molly whispered further.

_Horcrux_. The word whispered in the back of his mind. Yes, he remembered a horrible tale his mother once told him. He had forgotten the name, until now. The reason one should never trust an object that can speak back. "How many more?"

"Five others. Hopefully. That's if I can do what's needed before Halloween."

"What's special about Halloween?"

"That's when he'll create another." _Harry_.

Arthur didn't sleep for the rest of the night. Molly pretended she did. Both for different reasons; Arthur because he couldn't forget the horror stories his mother told about horcruxes and Molly because she couldn't get Fred's dead body out of her mind's eye.

()()()()

Arthur had to go to work the next morning. Before he left, though, he made Molly promise to not go horcrux hunting as she was due to give birth in two weeks.

She nodded her head, promised, and didn't dare tell him Ginny was born a week early. Besides, negotiating with goblins, while tedious, was nothing compared to what her children did to end the evil devices. As she sat on the couch, too exhausted to knit, she listened to her household run rampant with six little boys. She closed her eyes and realized she just didn't have the energy today.

_BANG!_ "Aaaahhhh! Mooommmmmyyyyyy!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note**: Thank you jesusfreak100percent for betaing this chapter!

* * *

**_Chapter 4_**

With the six boys being boys and her being pregnant, it wasn't until Saturday that she and Arthur had a chance to speak again. He was taking up a lot of the work around the house due to how close she was to her due date. His meals might not be as tasty as hers, but the boys weren't terribly picky.

On Saturday, she brought up the diary as they snuggled together on the couch. The boys were in bed.

"It's in Lucius Malfoy's possession, or it should be. That's where it was before—in a hidden room under the drawing room."

"How do you know?" Arthur asked, inquisitively. His hand drifted up and down on her arm.

"I told you about the Boy-Who-Lived, didn't I? His name is Harry. I don't know the specifics on how he found out, but he did and relayed it to me." She mentioned Harry and his role when she spoke of her boys to Arthur the night she confessed. She'd lay it on Harry for now as being the source of her knowledge. The last thing she wanted to do was tell her husband of how his unborn daughter got possessed by You-Know-Who. She could only imagine how he'd react and worry for Ginny before she was even born.

One of the many things she loved about her husband was he knew how to listen and take in information. Very often, he saw or understood things in what wasn't said. He was doing this right now.

"Your department is doing raids, isn't it?"

"I don't make the decision on where the raids are done. And we're talking about Lucius Malfoy."

"But you can try, can't you? Replace it with a fake and leave it there? Tell them that it's nothing but a blank journal?"

"My duplication charms fade after a couple hours, Molly." He took in a breath. "And I don't know who I would trust with something like this."

"I saw it once. I think I saw it more than once." She closed her eyes and stretched back her memory. Of course she easily recalled speaking with Dumbledore after the nasty business of the chamber was done and had seen the destroyed diary on his desk. But if she pushed further back, back to that summer before, she recalled Ginny writing happily in her new diary. The details were vague, but there were magical ways to get around such obstacles.

"Do you think you could recreate it?" Arthur asked.

"Maybe. Now, let's get to bed. You and I could both do with a good night's sleep."

()()()()

Four days later and it was Tuesday, August 11th to be precise. Molly paced in the kitchen. Arthur was off at work, some big interdepartmental meeting going on that he couldn't miss.

"Come on, Ginny. It's supposed to be your birthday today. You want to come out and see all your brothers, don't you?" She had been plagued with weak and sporadic contractions all morning.

"You're not naming him Ginny, are you?" Charlie made a face as he came into the kitchen. "Can I have some juice?"

"Of course you can. And no little boys are being named Ginny." _Just his sister is_. She pulled a cup out for him and then went to the cold box and pulled out some pumpkin juice. "Here you a-are. You can pour it yourself, can't you?" She handed the pitcher to Charlie and put her hand on her belly. _That's it, Ginny_. It was a contraction, one of several she'd experienced today.

"Did he kick again? Can I feel?"

Ginny was always moving around so she placed one of his hands where she was being most active. Charlie's eight year old face lit up with a grin. At this age, it never ceased to amaze him, she remembered, how a little babe could be in someone's belly.

He went to pouring the juice for himself and put it away.

Another contraction hit, stronger this time, barely a couple minutes apart. That did not happen last time. Last time it took a few hours before they were so close.

"Charlie, dear, I need you and Bill to get your brothers ready. We have to go to Saint Mungo's now."

"Mum?"

"_Now, _Charlie_!_"

He scrambled out of the room. "Bill!"

"Shit," she whispered. They weren't going to make it to Saint Mungo's. _It's not supposed to happen this way!_

"Mummy!" Percy was standing in the doorway, torn between worry and giving her a scolding look. It was the second time he caught her saying the naughty word recently, but she also had water around her feet.

She eased herself to the floor, using the counter as support. She'd heard of women having fast births, but this was ridiculous!

"Go get Bill, Percy."

"BILL!" And boy number two was now hollering for the oldest brother.

Bill barreled into the kitchen, Fred and George tumbling in after him.

"Mum!" Bill was at her side in an instant.

"Bill, I need you to fire call Saint Mungo's. They need to send someone here to help me. And then you need to see if you can get in touch with your Dad. Okay?"

"Yeah. Okay." He stumbled over to the fireplace.

She clenched her body in pain again, but didn't dare scream and frighten her boys. She did her best to breathe through it.

She watched as Charlie tried to pull the playpen into the kitchen as Ron sat in it. It didn't make it through the doorway, but sat pulled as close to it as it could get, in the living room but in view. Charlie then ran to the sink and pulled a couple of the cleaning rags from below. He set them where he could, where her water had broken.

She looked over to Bill, who looked like he was speaking to someone at Saint Mungo's. Then she looked to Charlie and Percy. "Percy, I need you to run upstairs and get a bunch of towels. Okay? Go get some towels." She looked to her twin boys, who looked worried and confused. "Fred, George-" She stopped for a moment and grit her teeth, breathing hard. "I need the two of you to be especially good today. Do you think you could play with Ron?"

The two twins looked on wide eyed. At this age, their mischief was only starting (compared to what they would get into). But their mischief never got in the way of worry for their family. Right now they were worried and scared for their mummy. George looked like he wanted to cry.

"It's okay, Georgie," said Charlie. He went to his little brother and gave him a hug. "Mummy is just giving us another brother now. Right?" Charlie looked to his mum for confirmation.

Molly nodded and gave a smile and gritted in pain.

The fireplace wooshed and a woman in a Saint Mungo's healer's uniform stepped out. The woman ushered out all the children into the living room, except Bill and Charlie. Bill, after the healer came through, started arguing with someone from the Ministry, through the fireplace, that he needed to speak with his Dad, but he was being refused because of the meeting. Charlie refused to leave his mum's side.

Pain. Lots of it. And more grossness than her boys ever wanted to know about birthing (thankfully they were not looking _there_).

Bill got off the floo and hurried to his mother's side when he had no luck with the ministry. He made it just in time for the babe to be born, a loud wail sounding.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Weasley, you have a beautiful baby girl! Now, if one of you boys could get a tow-thank you!"

Charlie held out a towel for her almost immediately.

"A girl!" Molly heard her boys quietly debate.

The healer efficiently wrapped Ginny in a towel. "Now I'm going to help your mother some more, but one of you boys will need to look after your sister. Scooch off to the other room until you're called."

An awestruck Bill held out his arms and took Ginny from the healer, the first Weasley to hold the newest addition. "Mum?" He asked. His mum hadn't seen the baby yet.

She nodded, "go." She smiled, remembering the first time she saw Ginny, as Bill walked out the room oh so carefully with Ginny. Charlie was right behind him.

"Guys, it's a girl!" she heard Bill tell her brood, still incredulous it wasn't a boy, before she turned her attention to the healer.

Bill was very good at taming his brothers as they all wanted to look at the newest addition. He carefully sat down on the couch, too afraid he'd drop her if he was standing. Charlie acted as enforcer, making sure that none of their younger brothers did anything they shouldn't around a newborn.

"She's icky," George declared, wrinkling his nose.

"And gooey," said Fred. He wrinkled his nose, too. What one twin did, the other was likely to do as well.

"The healer's gonna look over her after she finishes with mum," Bill said, almost certain that was what would happen.

"What else is there?" Percy asked as he studied his new and only sister, but glancing to the kitchen where his mum was.

"Dunno," Bill shrugged. "Probably girl stuff."

Charlie nodded in agreement. What else could there be? "Can I hold her?"

"Umm, let's wait for mum. I'm too scared to move my arms," said Bill truthfully.

It seemed forever, but really not, when Molly shuffled into the living room, changed and sore, but not deterred. One of the many things magicals had over muggles were some lovely healers spells that helped to dispel birth pains.

The medi-witch followed her.

Molly, of course, scooped her baby girl up in her arms, out of Bill's, and cooed. "Hello, Ginny. How wonderful that you are here," she said calmly and softly. Her family was almost complete. Arthur was missing, that dratted meeting, but she was already brewing a sufficient revenge.

Reluctantly, she allowed the medi-witch to take Ginny from her so the appropriate diagnostics could be run. She knew Ginny was healthy. She had been last time.

She kept vigilant watch over everything the woman did, from cleaning up Ginny to running the diagnostics, to bundling her up once again.

Finally, the medi-witch pronounced Ginny healthy, filled out the birth forms, and had Molly sign. A bill, too, was produced reflecting the charges for the home visit. Molly cringed when she saw the number, but it couldn't be helped. Her happiness overrode it, however, and turned back to Ginny.

The medi-witch saw herself out.

Molly sat on the couch and her boys all piled around her. Charlie sat snuggled up to one side holding Ron so Ron could see his new baby sister. Percy snuggled into her other side. The twins each stood in front of her, each grasping one of her knees as they looked at the newest edition. Bill sat next to Charlie.

"Your father's not here. How would you boys like to play a little joke on him?" She looked mischievously at each of her boys. Fred and George especially looked pleased. Their mother didn't often joke around.

"A small one," she amended.

That evening, Molly was in the kitchen, cooking up a storm, though relying heavily on her magic to do as much work as it could. Bill, too, was helping her. Between that time on the couch and now, she had had the boys scatter and play on their own while she took care of Ginny's infant needs and started a very simple meal for her family.

Ginny laid in a baby basket and was on the table. Molly looked to her little girl often.

The clock chimed five. Arthur arrived home at five minutes after every night, and she knew tonight would not be any different. The first time around, he arrived home to a note saying she was at Saint Mungo's. But this time, the birth had been too quick for that. Tonight, he was going to arrive to a no longer pregnant wife.

Dinner was practically done, many of the dishes already on the table and the last one in the oven.

"Alright, Bill," she nodded to her eldest and he knew what to do.

As gently and carefully as he possibly could, he waited as Molly gently placed Ginny in his arms. He made his way into the living room where he was out of sight with his little sister but could still hear everything. The basket was put off to the side and out of immediate site.

Molly looked to the table where Fred and George were bouncing in their seats, ready to see their daddy's reactions. Even Percy seemed to be excited. Ron was in his highchair. Charlie was in the doorway where he could keep an eye on everything about to happen but also see Bill.

Right on schedule, the fireplace wooshed and Molly turned back to her food preparations that didn't really need any more preparing.

"Hello, Weasleys!" Arthur said in greeting as he stepped out of the fireplace.

"Hi Daddy!" came from several of the boys. Fred and George were bouncing even more, not yet having learned the full art of hiding deception for the sake of a prank. Arthur gave them a suspicious look but as Molly seemed calm, though her back was to him, he decided it couldn't be terrible whatever they were brewing up between them. A glance at Percy and he was a little suspicious. Percy's hands were practically dancing in the boy's lap as he nervously played with his hand. But there was a gleam that wasn't often in his solemn boy's eyes.

"Dinner's just about ready, Arthur," she looked over her shoulder to look at him. "It's time for everyone to get washed up. You too." She tossed a cloth around her to lightly hit him as he leaned in for a kiss. She pecked his lips but didn't allow him to touch her. She maneuvered so her back was to him at all times. It also hid a small grin.

She waited for him to notice that there was another life in the household, but she wasn't about to make it easy. All the boys in the kitchen and her husband made their way to get cleaned up. For a moment, she thought the jig was up when she heard Arthur say hello to Bill. Apparently not.

She did the last bits of work on dinner and had it all placed on the table. Then she took a seat, pulling herself in so it wasn't obvious she didn't have as much of a belly.

Her boys and Arthur minus Bill filed in and sat down.

"How was work, dear?"

"Dreadfully boring. There was a meeting that lasted almost all day. Thankfully I was able to briefly speak about the raids with Auror Moody and he said he'd put in a word with the head of the auror department." He gave Molly a look that told her that while he didn't speak specifics with Moody, it was enough to know that the works were in place to have a raid on Malfoy Manor. She really did need to look into making a copy of that diary very soon. "And how was your day?"

She gave a small smile. "Oh, nothing happened that hasn't before." It was true. She had given birth six other times to his recollection and seven to her recollection.

He glanced around suspiciously as his boys were in differing states of giggles.

"Where's Bill?" His eldest was always hungry and was often one of the first at the dinner table. Arthur was certain the boy was about to go through a growth spurt any day.

More giggles.

It was decidedly not fair to Arthur, she determined, keeping it from him for too long. "Bill," she called gently, "time for dinner!"

"Coming mum!" Bill's voice was just as gentle, being aware of his sleeping sister's sensitive ears. Bill walked into the kitchen, still cradling Ginny. He made his way to his chair and sat down, ever mindful of the little babe.

Charlie piled food on his brother's plate as Bill couldn't do it himself but didn't bring attention to Ginny.

"Is that-" Arthur started.

"Is that what, dear?" Molly asked. "Oh, I forgot the rolls!" And she stood up to get her purposely missed rolls. The boys, knowing the script, snickered and giggled.

Arthur gawped at Molly. Then he gawped at the bundle in Bill's arms. And Molly again.

Bill took pity on his dad and carried Ginny over to him.

Arthur marveled at the little girl and scooped her up. Molly came over and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind. "Arthur, I would like you to meet your little girl, Ginerva Molly Weasley."


	5. Chapter 5

_******Author's Note**: Thank you jesusfreak100percent for betaing this chapter, even through exams! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story so far!_

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_**Chapter 5**_

Two weeks passed. Little Ginny was a demanding baby, no matter how sweet she was when she didn't need to be fed or diapered or bathed. Getting her to sleep was the only simple matter. Her staying asleep improved after the first week, where she woke them two to three times a night. After that first week, she woke up every three and a half to four hours, which meant they only got up once during the night and Ginny was most certainly their morning wake up call, if their boys didn't wake them first.

Why was she dwelling on this? Molly sighed as she put her daughter down for a nap, ever thankful she had the memories of the first time around. She had fully enjoyed every moment with her daughter and the rest of her family then, with no detriment until her brothers died. But now, she was counting every minute until she was able to pursue the next horcrux. Ginny's new birth made it difficult to determine when she could go.

Arthur managed to swindle a two week vacation (though would return at a moment's notice if there were to be a raid on Malfoy manor). It started September 6th, using the reason that because his eldest was going off to Hogwarts, she would need the extra help Bill provided. It was complete hogwash, of course. She was the master of managing her young children. But she would need that two weeks to seek horcruxes.

And with that in mind, she reminded herself to buy baby formula. None of her children needed a bottle for their first few months. Ginny hadn't needed one so far, but she couldn't risk being gone so long without risking Ginny needing to be fed and her not around.

So Ginny would start using a bottle earlier than she ever wanted her children to, because of the damned horcruxes needing her attention, and she knew which one she was going after next.

Saturday was four days away, Arthur's next day off. It was also the last Saturday before Hogwarts opened its doors to returning students. If she wanted to get the thing from Hogwarts without running into students, it would have to be this weekend.

She smiled at the sounds of laughter and running of feet that came from outside, where her boys were. She took her parchment and quill and went outside to watch them. She'd know if Ginny needed her due to a charm on Ginny's room attached to a bracelet that she wore.

She sat and then balanced the parchment on her lap to write to a man she knew to be dead a month ago, to her memory.

_Dear Headmaster Dumbledore,_

_I write you because of an item that was lost in Hogwarts in my youth and now that I know where it is, I wish to retrieve it. It was cleverly hidden, so cleverly that I did not know where it was until now. It would mean a great deal if I could retrieve it as it is of some importance. I would like to do so before the school year begins. If you are amicable to this, please let me know. This weekend is a preferable time as my husband will be able to watch over our children._

_Sincerely,_

_Molly Weasley, nee Prewett_

()()()()

Dumbledore acquiesced, writing that she was welcome to come any time before noon on Saturday and to please visit for a moment as he would be most pleased to greet a former student for a few moments.

And so she found herself tumbling out of a fireplace in Hogsmeade at eleven in the morning. She hoped to have an earlier start, but the morning was one that reminded her why the Weasley family always had difficulty getting anywhere on time.

The walk to the castle did her good as she was able to breathe and take in the silence. She loved her loud family and loved a full household with its stomping and laughter, but she loved quiet moments, too. Since Ginny was born, there hadn't been a single quiet moment, so the walk was doing her some good. It was especially good for getting ready to deceive one of the greatest wizards of their time. Hopefully, Dumbledore would take the words as her having lost something when she was at Hogwarts and she hoped to retrieve it. She hadn't lied in her letter, however, as she knew the man would catch a lie. So she told the absolute truth, when possible, and as close as she could get when not.

She knew he would likely have some questions, but hopefully not so many that she would have to outright lie and potentially get caught. As much as she knew he would be a great help, more great than she likely imagined, if she failed, she needed to know that he would not suspect little Harry of ever being a horcrux until he was much older.

The greater good was all fine and dandy but Harry was more important to her than that.

Hogwarts Castle came into view and her breath caught in her throat. She stopped as she took it in, before continuing. The castle was whole. The grounds weren't charred from battle. Everything was bright and green and magical. Here, her Fred hadn't died. Her friends hadn't died. A war wasn't waged. Here, the castle stood as a bastion of hope. This magnificent castle had sent her back, had the power to send her back.

She walked through the gates and walked up the grounds towards the front doors of Hogwarts. As she crossed the threshold, she felt…she sucked in a breath. She felt Hogwarts welcome her. She reached out and touched one of the walls.

"Hello, Hogwarts," she whispered. Another rush of feeling washed over her. She heard echoes of running and laughter and relief. With it, the knowledge that though these were echoes of memories of all the children that at one point or another walked through these halls, this was Hogwarts responding to her, happy that she was here.

It comforted her. In some ways, it acknowledged that she did indeed travel to the past and that it wasn't some crazy dream that happened to be right about horcruxes. She made her way to the Great Hall, where the headmaster indicated he would most easily be found if he weren't there to greet her.

In the small walk there, she'd catch a ghost or portrait out of the corner of her eye pointing at her and whispering to the closest companion it could. If she looked directly at them, however, they'd suddenly be minding their own business. She supposed it made sense. The portraits and ghosts were all a part of Hogwarts. If the explosion of Hogwarts' magic carried her back, she could only imagine it carried all other live or somewhat live entities back with her.

She kissed the tips of her fingers and laid those fingers against another wall of Hogwarts. These walls carried the memory of what happened: castle, ghosts, and portraits. Those memories of those lives wouldn't disappear with the wind. They wouldn't have lived to then not exist at all. She was certain Hogwarts would somehow make sure the world would somehow know of the battle forged within her walls and the loyalty of those who defended her.

Then she was at the Great Hall. Voices carried through the doors, opened only a crack.

"What could possibly make you think Voldemort would target us? We fight against him, but so do many others!"

"I understand you want answers, but now is not the time and here is not the place. Walls have ears, James."

Molly leaned close to the doors to hear more as a female voice spoke, but the words were too soft for her to understand. A small child's voice babbled.

"It would be best if you were to go in hiding," the headmaster's voice clearly rang.

A bark of a sarcastic laugh. "Hiding? Where is there to hide?"

Molly knew that voice. She never got along with that voice. She pushed one of the doors open and stepped in to confirm her suspicion. A young, and rather dashing (if she dared to admit it), Sirius Black stood in the middle of the Great Hall, a babe in his arms. His hair was short and tidy and he wore robes befitting of a pureblood, a far cry from the man who escaped Azkaban. A man who looked suspiciously like Harry Potter and a woman with red hair similar to her brood's, only more auburn and copper than orange stood with him and Sirius Black.

"Ah, Mrs. Weasley, I see you made it." Albus Dumbledore, who stood with the others, turned to face her. He gave a congenial smile and beckoned her over.

"Molly, please," she implored. It was strange to hear the formal title from the man's lips after having heard familiarity from them for so long.

"Then you must call me Albus!" he smiled. "Do you know James and Lily Potter or Sirius Black?"

"No, I can't say I do?" Really, she couldn't. If she admitted to knowing Sirius Black, it would open a firestorm, she was sure. And the Potters she only knew through stories. "I'm pleased to meet you." She held out a hand in greeting and they each shook hands in politeness. She reached out and brushed a hand over one of Harry's tiny fingers, cupping them in her own. "Hello," she greeted the babe.

"This is Harry, my godson," Sirius boasted as he adjusted Harry, ever so slightly, in his arms.

"It's very nice to meet you, Harry," she continued softly, not a stitch of baby talk in her voice. She knew him as too much of an adult (even when he was a child) to treat him in any other way. Her own children were different, but even them she treated in a different way than the first time around, less as babes and more as small children bound to grow up into wonderful people.

Harry babbled back at her. His arms grew wide at one point.

"Really? You don't say. That big?"

He babbled more.

"He likes you," a voice came from behind. It was Lily Potter. "He doesn't take to many people, and fewer still right off."

"Maybe he can tell I have children?"

"Oh? How many?"

"Seven. Six boys and a girl." It wasn't nearly as disconcerting as she thought it ought to be, talking to a woman dead for more than sixteen years. Perhaps because she already got over her brothers being alive, her brothers who she had now seen three times since she came back in time.

"Wait, you're Gideon and Fabian's sister, aren't you?" James Potter interjected. "I remember Gideon talking about his swath of nephews."

She nodded.

"What brings you here?" James asked.

"Something left behind at Hogwarts."

"Oh? Sounds mysterious," Sirius joked.

"Perhaps it is," Molly replied, playing into it. Perhaps if she kept it lighthearted enough, they wouldn't realize her overt play deception was really actual deception.

"I am glad the three of you showed up early. Sirius, if you could escort Molly through the school to get what she seeks, I would be very grateful. It will give me a chance to speak privately with James and Lily. Take Harry with you as well." Dumbledore's voice stayed serene, but there was a touch of steel hidden underneath. It was the one that made James shake his head at Sirius before the young man could protest.

"I'll meet back up with you in a little bit, then," Sirius ground out. He knew James would later share with him what was going on, so he didn't know why Dumbledore was so ready to see him on his way out the door. Okay, he knew. He knew that Dumbledore likely didn't want to put up with whatever comments he would have. After all, he knew it was bad if he was suggesting James and Lily go into hiding. "Come on, Molly. Let's go find this mystery item of yours."

Harry babbled in agreement from Sirius's arms.

"So where are we going?" Sirius asked once they stepped out of the Great Hall, more out of obligation than anything. His mind was on what was being said between the headmaster and his friends.

"Sixth, no seventh, floor corridor. Somewhere there. It's across from the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy teaching some trolls ballet."

"There's nothing there but a wall," Sirius said knowingly. After all, he was a Marauder and helped to find seven passageways out of the castle and multiple other secrets.

"That's what you think," Molly retorted, inwardly smirking and feeling closer to thirty than fifty. She brushed some hair from her face as they walked. It was rather fortuitous, she thought, that she was given an opportunity to speak with Sirius Black alone. After all, she could find out about his brother and if he would have access to the locket if his brother had retrieved it already.

"There's nothing there," Sirius insisted, not wanting to be wrong.

Harry tugged at his godfather's hair.

"Ow! Let go, Harry!" He took hold of Harry's little fingers and worked them out of his short hair. How the babe found enough to grab hold of and keep hold of, he never knew.

"Would you like me to take him for a little while?" Molly asked wistfully. She missed the boy and though he wasn't the same as she remembered, still had a great desire to hug the boy with a ferocity that only she could achieve with a hug.

"Sure," Sirius said reluctantly. He loved his baby godson and didn't see him often enough. He always hogged the boy whenever they were together, much to the Potters' amusement and sometimes displeasure. His arms were getting tired, though. He could always snatch the boy back at any time, too.

Molly gathered the almost thirteen month old in her arms as if she had held him multiple times before. "Hello again," she said to the boy. Harry started babbling at her once more, but more often his eyes drifted around him and to the strange surroundings with ghosts and magical portraits and moving armor.

They were only two flights up on their journey when the stairwell they stood on moved. Not only did it move, but it offered them only one direction and froze.

"I guess we're going back down," Sirius shrugged, not at all bothered.

Molly, knowing and having personal experience demonstrating Hogwarts' sentience, was a little more bothered. This was altogether the wrong direction. She went down, however, following Sirius.

"Strange," Sirius said as they turned down a corridor, the stairwell not offering any options to get off the floor. In front of them, four suits of armor stood in a row, blocking their path. "I guess we're to go the other way.

Molly had a sinking suspicion as to where Hogwarts was herding them. "Don't you dare," she whispered furiously to the castle. Sirius was several steps ahead of her, more than ready to see where they were being ushered, or ready for an adventure. Molly couldn't tell which and she couldn't tell if the two theories were wholly separate.

She heard metal against stone, solid synchronized steps. The armor behind them kept their distance but effectively blocked their path if they chose to turn tail.

Molly steeled herself. She hadn't been sorted into Gryffindor for nothing, after all. They encountered another blockade of armor. Only one path was left to them.

"A girls' bathroom?" Sirius asked disappointed, and snatched Harry back from Molly's arms so he could cuddle the boy again.

Molly drew her wand, excellent for defense according to Ollivander, and made her way into the bathroom. Sirius followed behind her.

"What are you expecting?" he asked as he walked through the door. His eyes grew wide. "I wasn't expecting that."

"She made it! She made it! To kill it and slay it and skewer it." Peeves stopped his spinning and held tightly onto the Sorting Hat on his head. He soared to her and put himself nose to nose as he held the edges of the hat, pulling the brim over his ears. "How fun!" Then he pulled back to soar around the room, cackling madly.

She looked to the sinks, where her son's tale told her the entrance to the chamber of secrets was. It was wide open.

"Hogwarts opened it for you," Moaning Myrtle pouted as she came out of one of the toilets.

"You can't possibly think that I could slay—"

"Harry did it. He did. I remember. He was going to share my toilet. Now," she sneered, looking at Harry, "he's an ickle baby."

Sirius pulled Harry protectively to him, not knowing what to make of the strange conversation but not liking the look the ghost girl shot his godson.

"You're older than he was when he killed it. Surely that should count for something," Myrtle finished. "Or do you expect the ickle baby to do the job again?" she scorned.

Molly bristled at the insinuation that she would willingly allow a child to do an adult's job. Then Myrtle looked proud of herself and realized that the ghost had gotten the reaction that she wanted.

"Molly, what's going on?" Sirius asked.

Molly ignored him. "There must be another way."

"No," Peeves chimed.

"Yes."

"No. Nope. Nopedy nope nope. None. Nada. Zilch. Zero!"

A flame to the side startled her. Fawkes appeared. He stayed in the air.

"There is no way I am fighting a bas-," Fawkes swooped down and grabbed her shoulder. Lifted her and pulled her down the passageway. "—iliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisk!"

Peeves cackled madly as he tossed the sorting hat down the passageway after them.

Sirius stood in the middle of the room, wondering what the hell just happened, then plopped down on the floor to play with his godson. Molly was bound to show up again. He knew Fawkes would make sure of it.


	6. Chapter 6

A.N.: Thank you, once again, jesusfreak100percent, for betaing. Also, I don't write fight, typically, so I hope it comes across well enough to imagine.

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**_Chapter 6_**

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Fawkes gently lowered himself down until Molly was able to stand on her own two feet. Then he let go.

The Sorting Hat, which Peeves tossed down, landed at her feet.

Molly reached for it and pulled it against her chest, her wand arm out and armed. She swallowed, as if her terror were sitting in the back of her throat and could be dispelled so easily.

"Well, this was a brilliant plan, Hogwarts," she took a step forward and cringed as bones crunched beneath her shoes.

_Squeak._

Molly turned quickly to the noise, her heart racing even more. She faced a circular door, open and decorated with serpents. It moved slightly, squeaking again.

"If you don't mind…" a muffled voice came.

Molly threw the hat down onto the ground, startled.

"Really. We haven't even gotten to the beast yet."

"You, you..." she pointed at the hat with her wand.

"I—I what? I talk? I thought we established that when you were eleven. Now put me on, you blasted woman. I sorted you into Gryffindor for a reason, not for you to be spooked by a talking hat when you became grown."

"You startled me!" she said indignantly. Of course she knew the Sorting Hat talked. She snatched the rude cloth off the ground in a quick, angry movement and shoved the hat on her head. Stories of how Gryffindor's sword was buried within the recesses of the brim were practically all over Hogwarts after the battle, what with Neville Longbottom pulling the sword out of the hat. Harry managed the same when he was twelve and slayed the very same basilisk in this chamber.

She just reminded herself that there was a basilisk down here. Oh, Merlin. A basilisk. With fangs! And eyes that could kill you on sight!

"I should like to go home now."

"Nonsense. It's all here, you know. More fierce than fearless. More unflinching than daring. It takes all kinds to make Gryffindor a house of the brave. You, Molly Weasley, are a Gryffindor through and through."

"There must be an easier way than this." Molly thought the words kind but not terribly helpful. She tried once again to swallow down her terror at the thought of the monster.

"I think a chicken can kill a basilisk," replied the hat.

"A chicken?"

"Maybe a goose."

"You don't know?"

"Well shouldn't you? I'm a hat. You're a witch."

"I've never actually studied basilisks. Why would I want to study basilisks? And how could a chicken kill a monster? Are you going to give me the sword or not?"

"Hmph," replied the Sorting Hat. "Definitely Gryffindor. Impatient, the lot of you. All in due time. Part of the enchantment is that it cannot be given until absolutely needed. We haven't gotten there, yet."

"Well, alright then."

She turned back to face the circular door. She definitely heard something, something that sounded suspiciously like scales against stone.

Fawkes chirped at her from above, where he was swooping around, and reminded her that he was there.

He gouged the basilisk's eyes out the first time, didn't he? She should remember. She had finally heard the whole story three days before coming back in time. Yes, he definitely did. It comforted her slightly.

"Let's do this, then." She cast her eyes down so she wouldn't meet the basilisk's gaze as she reinforced the grip on her wand and held it straight out, ready to cast as many deadly blows as she knew how.

She stifled a scream as she heard the hissing, obviously seeking its prey—her. She lifted her wand and ran through all the spells she could recall that might assist her. She knew, too, like a dragon's hide, basilisk hide was just as impenetrable to spells. Really, she wished Hogwarts would have offered her the option of studying ways to kill it first instead of plunging her in out of her depths.

Fawkes let out a call, more of a warrior's cry than a trill, or what passed for one from a phoenix. She heard the smashing and gnashing. She backed up, nearly to the door from where she entered the chamber.

After what seemed to be too long and no time at all, Fawkes flew away from the beast and made a circle around her. He then flew off through the door.

"You can look now. Oh, and you'll need this," said the hat.

Something blunt, heavy, and metal banged against her head. Had they been under pleasanter circumstances, she would have told the shaped cloth off. As it was, she pulled it off her head and found the hilt of a sword, the sword, showing from under the brim. She pulled it out and left the Sorting Hat where it was. _Just hold the pointy end at the snake_, she told herself and lifted it up with both hands. Her wand rested against the hilt and its tip went just past the guard and rested snugly in the fuller, the groove of the sword, like it was purposely made that way to join with a wand. And for all she knew, it may have been. Just as she may be imagining such.

But she felt more comfortable holding a wand in her hand than a sword and was grateful for the accommodation. Her musings didn't last long as the basilisk recovered as much as it was able from having its eyes gouged out.

"A-avis!" she shouted and her spell cast along the blade and straight toward the serpent, birds pouring out of the spell. A delay tactic to be sure, anything to keep it from attacking her. And it was distracted. The birds were noisy things that the basilisk snapped at, some being swallowed whole, but others keeping just enough out of reach for Molly to try and think of something else, of something to help her succeed.

"Confringo!" she attempted, but the curse seemingly bounced right off its durable hide. "Expulso!" Darker magic than she normally went for, but this wasn't a normal circumstance! Still, it didn't help in the way she wanted. Though it didn't harm the beast, it apparently made it angry and directed its attention back to Molly, though not quite able to pinpoint where she was.

The birds were only barely helping now.

And then she had an idea, though it was a bit mad. Truly, what could she be thinking? Oh yes, to not be eaten, that was a good reason as any. She slowly moved so that she would have space to run if she needed, preferably not into the school. It wouldn't do to release the monster on unsuspecting souls.

"Oi, you-you beast," she shouted. Her back was to the statue of Slytherin and the basilisk swerved to face its prey's voice. She put the sword in her left hand, her wand positioned just behind it to perform the spell.

Its mouth widened, ready to swallow her. "_Waddiwasi_!" She pushed all she had into the spell, meant for smaller objects, and the sword went flying, straight into the roof of the monster's mouth.

It fell, dead, inches from where she stood. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Huh, that was easier than I thought it would be," she commented. She carefully reached into the mouth and pulled out the sword, careful of the poison dripped fangs.

"That's because you have Hogwarts on your side!" the hat shouted from across the chamber. "How dare you throw me on the floor so carelessly! What if the monster had eaten me? Hundreds of students would be left without my wisdom in the years to come!"

Molly rolled her eyes and drew the sword up and through one of the fangs. She cast an impenetrable spell on a fold of cloth she transfigured from a pebble and wrapped the fang carefully. She'd have to secure it better later, before the spell wore away, but it would certainly last long enough for her to do so. She then walked over to the hat.

"Don't get your folds in a bunch. You're perfectly alright. Would you like me to cast a cleaning spell on you?" And she picked him up, once she temporarily placed the sword and wrapped fang on the ground.

"Certainly not. It could mess with my enchantments."

"Very well, then." She gently brushed the hat off. "Thank you for the sword."

"Yes, well, you are Hogwarts' champion and a true Gryffindor."

"Thank you," and she plopped the hat back on her head so she could hold the sword and fang once again.

Fawkes swooped back in, chirping happily, then grasped onto her and pulled her back up the way into Myrtle's bathroom.

A thought dawned on her. "I thought the chamber could only be opened by an heir of Slytherin. How was it opened for me?" They were still flying up.

"Hogwarts opened it!" the hat shouted through the echo of air rushing past her ears.

"But why didn't she the last time? If she could, why didn't she help the last time?"

"I'm not the person to answer that. Only Hogwarts could answer you and she only will if she decides you need to know."

They landed and Molly took a moment and regained balance once back on the ground. Sirius was sitting on the bathroom floor playing peek-a-boo with Harry. Harry let out squeals of baby delight every time his godfather took his hands off his eyes.

Sirius looked to Molly and raked his eyes over her. "You look horrible."

She really did. She caught a glance of herself in the mirror. Her robes were torn in a couple places and all over filthy. Her hair was everywhere. A smudge of dirt was on her nose, reminding her of an eleven year old Ron boarding the Hogwarts Express for the first time. "I really do," she agreed and cast a few spells to make herself presentable once more.

She only barely noticed the chamber's entrance closing.

"Eee!" a squeal from Harry.

"So what happened?"


End file.
